Bastion's Revenge (Revised)
by Shield Lightning
Summary: The sequel as it was meant to be. Years have passed, and lives have gone on. But a mutated, vengeful old enemy will draw heroes from two dimensions together again.
1. Preface

To My Loyal Readers…

This is for all of those who (like myself) really liked Brother from Another Dimension, but felt that my first attempt at the sequel, Bastion's Revenge, left a bitter taste in their mouth. First of all, allow me to sincerely apologize for the time this has taken. Graduate school and starting a new job took a lot of my time. Add into that gaming and other stuff, and writing took a place on the backburner.

Now, why have I done this? Well, I know from classes as well as personal experience that writing takes time. Stories don't just appear out of thin air on your paper like gifts from heaven, shining like a beautiful gem, perfect as they are. No, writing is a process that involves thinking up a story, developing it, writing it down, looking it over and fixing it, writing it again, looking it over and fixing it again and again until you finally have a story good enough for you to push out. It can take anywhere from a few months to a few years to create a good story.

BfAD was a freak of writing. I thought of the story, started writing it, and came out with a story that, even though a few elements were a bit clunky, was still pretty good. So I pushed it out, and low and behold, it actually got some good reviews. It wasn't a smash hit, but it was a moderate success.

Therein lays the problem. BfAD set the bar really high for the sequel. So, I thought up a good idea for the next story, and just started writing, trying to "recapture the magic," if you will. And, needless to say, I failed miserably. BR looked like a rushed story should: like a complete mess.

Another issue I suffered from was weak will. As I wrote, I started to think of things to add to the story. Instead of saying "No, this will ruin my original plan," I just added whatever plot device and character came into my head. I took a good idea, and completely bastardized it with every whim I felt. I feel ashamed of myself as a writer and a fan.

Speaking of characters, I fell for a common writing trap: I added way…WAY to many characters. That's one of the main problems in writing. You need to find the right balance of characters to support the plot devices, have primary and secondary characters. This will make your story seem concise and clean, not bulky and messy like BR. On the LWC side, for example, the character Alex Johnston provided no value other than to forward a worthless plot device. Worse yet, on the CDRR side, the character Sparky provided absolutely no value, not even forwarding a plot device, which is not only an injustice to the reader, but to a character that was really rather cool.

Even worse, on my first revisit, I didn't learn my lesson. I got lazy, and just remove characters without changing the story. This was a mess, and provided more headaches than it fixed.

So, here's what I've done. I've taken the first three chapters of the original story (the only part of the original BR I thought was any good) and saved them. The rest of the story has been scrapped. I will write the story as it was meant to be. I think you will be pleased.

Thank you.

Shield Lightning


	2. Chapter 1

_The Rescue Rangers and all references to the show are exclusive property of Disney. These properties are used for the sole purpose of personal entertainment and are not be used for any personal gain whatsoever._

 _All other content is exclusive property the author. These properties are to be used only by me and those given permission to use my properties. Feel free to contact me with any ideas._

 _ **Lightning Warrior Commission Database: TIPA file**_

 _ **Gabrielle "Gadget" Hackwrench**_

 _The only child of inventor/pilot Geegaw Hackwrench and his wife Katherine, Gabrielle Hackwrench (known by most as "Gadget") was a genius from a very young age. Known for her crazy inventions and unconventional piloting style, she is most known (in the LW001 dimension, at least) for the events that became known as the "RR117 Incident." After helping Taryn Corin-Johnston defeat Lightneton, and prevent her world's destruction, Taryn erased her memory of the event. This forced her to come to grips with her father's death twice. The second time, she did not have his support, and was forced to work it out herself. She was terribly depressed, when an old friend, Monterey Jack Colby, stopped by looking for her father. He brought with him three friends. An overconfident fly named Zipper, and a pair of chipmunks: carefree Dale Oakmont, and headstrong Chip Maplewood. They enlisted her help, and after defeating Aldrin Klordane, together formed a crime-fighting group known as the Rescue Rangers. Their countless adventures brought new meaning to her life, and she even found love in Chip. Little did she know that an old enemy would bring her and her new friends tumbling into LWC affairs once again…_

 **Chapter 1: "I'll protect you."**

-Central Park, Metropolitan Heights-

In the tree in the middle of the park, there was a fight going on. Two chipmunks were at it again. This argument was over the night's television lineup.

"CSI!" Chip said.

"AFV!" Dale said.

"CSI!" Chip stepped closer to Dale.

"AFV!" Dale was now face-to-face with his friend.

A mouse and a bat sat at the couch watching this. The mouse, wearing a set of lavender coveralls and goggles, was Gadget, the bat, wearing a simple white shirt, was Foxglove. They watched as their respective boyfriends argued, once again.

"This is getting really annoying." Foxglove said to Gadget.

"I've lived with them for years." Gadget said. "It never stops being annoying."

The boys were on the verge of a fist fight when two more entered the room. One, a sweater and jacket clad mouse named Monterey Jack, the other, on his shoulder, was a fly named Zipper, in his red shirt. "Alright, break it up, you two. This is gettin' out of hand!" Monterey said, pulling Dale and Chip apart. "You two have been at it long enough. Now what's this about?"

"Dale wants to watch America's Funniest Home Videos." Foxglove interjected.

"But Chip wants to watch CSI: Miami." Gadget concluded.

"Ya' mean to tell me you two are ready to fight over a TV show?" Monterey hollered.

"Can't you guys go one day without fighting?" Gadget asked.

"He started it!" Dale said, pointing at Chip.

"Did not!" Chip snapped back.

"Did too!"

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

"Knock it off!" Monterey yelled.

"I can't take this, anymore." Gadget got up, and began to leave the room.

"Gadget?" Chip pleaded.

"No, Chip. Not this time." She screamed. "Just leave me alone for a while."

Dale laughed, and pointed at Chip. "Chip's in the doghouse!"

"You too, Dale." Foxglove said.

"But Foxy!"

"No buts." Foxglove stormed out.

"This is your fault!" Dale turned to Chip.

"My fault?" Chip began.

"I said, knock it off!" Monterey demanded.

Gadget entered her room. She looked in her mirror for a moment. A few minutes later, she heard a knock on her door.

"Go away, Chip!"

"No, it's me, Foxy!" Foxglove said through the door.

"Come in." Gadget said.

The door opened and Foxglove entered. "I've noticed you've been coming in here more often, lately." Foxglove said. "You're closing yourself off. I'm a little worried."

"I just can't stand to see the boys fight!"

"Oh, no!" Foxglove said. "It's more than that. Remember, I can read you. You've got something else jumping around in that mind of yours."

"Well." Gadget looked down at the top drawer of her dresser. She opened it, and pulled out an old notebook. "This is something I've had for a long time. From before I met the other Rangers." She opened it. "It's about some guy named Taryn. I think I know him, but I can't remember anything about him, except what's written here. I can't even remember his face."

"Maybe I could look inside your head." Foxglove said. "I could..."

"Hypnosis? No." Gadget said. "Something inside tells me not to. Otherwise, I would have asked you by now. Besides, you know I hate that."

"So, why does it bother you? And why now?"

"It just seems like a lot of answers lie right here in my hands. I just can't figure it out. I've been trying to get it out of my head for years now, but something tells me I'm going to need this."

In another dimension, a transport carrying prisoners to a new maximum security prison flies through the sky. It is painted flat black, and has the white crescent and bolt symbol of the Lightning Warrior Commission.

This particular transport was carrying a special cargo to the prison. A crime ringleader was being transported under heavy security. "Oh, stewardess?" The crime boss said to one of the guards. "When does the in-flight movie start?"

"As soon as you stop being an ass!" The guard fired back. "Now keep quiet. We'll be there soon."

"Where?"

"You know where, you moron!" The guard said. "Your new home for the next twenty to thirty."

"You know what?" The crime boss said. "I think I'd like to change my travel plans." At that, the transport came under attack. He started to laugh.

In the cockpit, the pilot called base. "Transport One to base, this is Transport One. We are under attack!" There was nothing but static. "They must have knocked out the communications array!" He looked to his copilot. "Prepare for crash landing."

The transport fell to the ground. The pilots were barely able to land it on a small road. After touching down, the craft slid hundreds of feet before finally coming to rest. The craft lay there a few moments smoking, before the door opened. Other smaller attack craft landed near it. The first person out of the craft was the crime boss. He dragged one of the guards out with him. One of the attackers stepped up next to him.

"Give me your gun." The boss said to his crony, who happily handed him his pistol. He cocked it. "I'm sorry, but you've missed your connection." BANG! He callously shot the guard, who fell motionless to the ground.

"Boss, we gotta get out of here!"

"Yes. I feel like a nice hot bath." The crime boss said. As he turned to the new transport, the one behind him exploded. The crime boss turned around, to see a figure standing in the flames. "Who are you?"

The figure stood there, in the flames, motionless. He looked at his hands, and then felt the horns on his head. He then examined his tail. "NOOOOOOOOOOO!" He let out a cry that shook the heavens themselves. He then turned to the group of thieves in front of him. "Thunder Blast!" He fired a shot strait through one of the fighter craft, which promptly exploded.

"KILL THE BEAST!" The crime boss pointed his gun at the figure, and fired. His remaining cronies soon followed suit, each emptying a full clip into the demon, who just stood there, unfazed. After the shooting completed, the figure turned to the group, and began to walk towards them. As he left the flames, his face became clear. "Hey," the crime boss said, "I know you! You're Bas…" The demon grabbed him by his neck, and snapped it like a stick.

"That name has no meaning for me anymore." He then turned to the remaining lackeys. "Die now!" He cut them all down in one blow, then spread his massive wings and took off.

The night was crisp in the park. Gadget sat on the edge of the branch which served as the Ranger's landing strip. Chip approached her, and sat down next to her.

"You need to learn a little control." She said to him. "I just can't stand to see you two fighting."

"Well he started it." He said under his breath. She looked at him with an angry look. "Sorry."

"You're supposed to be friends. As close as brothers." She looked at him. "You know I love you, but I can't put up with this kind of drama in my life. You've got to learn to get along."

"I'll try better. I promise." Chip said, putting his arm around Gadget. They sat there for a few minutes, before Chip broke the silence. "Penny for your thoughts?"

Gadget shrugged. "I don't know. I just feel really bad right at this moment. Like something bad just happened."

"I'll protect you. Whatever it is." He looked into her eyes. "I will always be here for you."

"Thanks." They sat there, staring at the stars.


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: Dead Statues DO Tell Tales**

-Shishapangma, Nepal-

High above the clouds stands the mountain's peak, one of only fourteen in the world to stand above eight thousand meters. The howling winds whipped around the peaks, and anything in their path would be frozen quickly. Standing up here feels like standing on top of the world.

On this day, a man is climbing his way to the top. He currently stood at two hundred meters from the peak. He was slightly taller than the average man, maybe six foot tall. He was well built, and yet wasn't really built like a brick house, either. Tone might be the word for it, with a little extra. From under his hat could be seen locks of flowing blond hair, unkempt but clean. This man was a picture of just above average.

What was exceptional about this man was he had a tail. A long, bushy tail, almost as long as he was tall, this tail would look more at home on a squirrel.

"Not too far now to the summit, Taryn." His guide told him.

He looked up, taking off his goggles as he did. "Good, let's get up there."

They continued to climb, and as they neared the top, a familiar figure stood there awaiting him. He was of a slightly pudgier build, though he looked like he could have once matched Taryn in build. He had short, brown hair, and a small goatee. He wasn't wearing any real cold weather gear, merely a uniform, with the LWC symbol, and the letters T-I-P-A below.

Taryn spoke with his guide, who turned around and made his way back down the mountain. Taryn then climbed up to meet the newcomer.

"You cheated, you know." He said. "You're supposed to climb the mountain, not phase here through a portal."

"I guess I'll have to remember that for next time." The new guy responded, with a laughing tone.

Taryn and the new guy looked at each other, and then began to laugh. After a second, Taryn reached out and hugged the new guy. "How have you been, Rez?"

Robert Alen Whitcraft, or "Rez" as everyone knew him, was the new leader of the LWC's Temporal & Inter-Dimensional Protection Agency (TIPA), appointed following the RR117 incident. "Kinda cold," he said as he activated a device on his wrist, which shot out a beam of light, opening a rip in space-time. Inside the portal, one could see the interior of an office, "and as much as I would like to reminisce, I am actually here on business. We have an urgent matter to discuss, so shall we."

They both stepped through the portal, which closed behind them.

-Glory Museum, New Venture City-

A cloaked figure stood in the museum's "Heroes of the LWC" wing, and was standing in front of a statue. It was shorter that the rest, but still stood a good four feet tall. It was made of granite, and was the visage of a mouse. Obviously female, it had long, flowing hair, and sported a set of coveralls and a pair of goggles on its head. The statue's inscription simply read 'Gadget Hackwrench-Hero.'

"Excuse me, sir?" A short, pimply man stood tapping the figure's shoulder. "The museum is closing. You have to leave now."

"Oh, do I?" His tail came out from under his coat, and with a swift swing, he plunged the tip of it through the heart of the man, who fell to the ground. The figure looked at his tail tip, which seemed to have a blade on it. "Interesting." He looked back at the statue, and a grin grew across his face.

-LWC Temporal & Inter-Dimensional Protection Agency Headquarters-

Taryn sat at Rez's desk, still in his mountain gear, sans parka and climbing equipment. Rez pulled a folder out of his drawer, and handed it across the table. "We picked up a distress call last night." Rez said. "A prison transport bound for the new ultra-high security prison was attacked. It was carrying, among others, crime boss Saral Mesaad of the vicious Black Wolf Syndicate. They appear to have attacked to release him from captivity."

"Which is all very interesting." Taryn said. He leaned back and crossed his arms. "What does this have to do with TIPA?"

"When New Venture PD arrived on the scene, they found Saral Mesaad, his men, the crew, and all of the other prisoners murdered. Rather brutally, too." Rez handed Taryn an envelope, which he opened, and pulled out the pictures inside.

"By the Power!" Taryn said in disgust as he sifted through the pictures. "Who could do this?"

Rez opened a file labeled 'Transport #243.' He rifled through the pages, and pulled out one. "This is the prisoner manifest. Notice any familiar names."

Taryn looked down the list, and stopped with his eyes in horror. "Bastion? You think it could have been him?"

"Not only do I think it was him, but I think he escaped." Rez said. "I don't know his plans, yet, but we want to pull you in, in case he tries something funny."

"He knows the secrets, doesn't he?" Taryn said. "What's to stop him from building his own archway?"

"That's what we're so worried about." Rez said. His phone rang, and he turned on the speaker. "This is Rez."

"Sir," the voice said, "we have an issue at the Glory Museum. We think it's related."

"OK, we'll be there shortly." Rez hang up, and turned to Taryn. "Let's go."

The two men walked into the Glory Museum to find utter chaos. An officer ran up to the three. "Sir!" He saluted Rez, and then turned to Taryn. "Wow! It's Taryn! This is a huge honor. I can't believe you're here! A lot of us thought you were dead!"

"Officer!" Rez reprimanded the officer. Who immediately recoiled and went back to his work. The two turned the corner into the "Heroes of the LWC" wing. They saw the fallen man, now covered in a white sheet, with a large spot of blood on its chest. "The security patrol stumbled upon the scene twenty minutes ago. They found him dead of a single stab wound to the chest, and then they found this." They turned to the statue of Gadget. Its head had been severed, and rested at the statue's base.

On the forehead, was etched a word. Taryn read it aloud. "Revenge?" He looked at the other two. "He's going to try and go after Gadget!"

"We believe so, which is why we need to find him first." Rez turned to Taryn. "This is why I brought Taryn in. Your intimate knowledge of the dimension will give you an advantage."

"You mean?" Taryn began.

"Yes!" Rez finished. "We're sending you in. Now! Your mission is to track down Gadget Hackwrench and protect her. At all costs!"

Taryn looked at his locket. "You don't have to tell me twice." They left the room. _Here we go again, little sister._


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: "Phantom Punch"**

It was a slow day at Ranger Headquarters. There were no cases to alleviate boredom. Not that they didn't have things to do. An off day is a perfect opportunity to clean up. Monterey was in the kitchen, cleaning dishes. Zipper did his best to put dishes away.

"Zipper, me pal!" Monterey said grabbing the large stack of dishes Zipper was struggling under. "Maybe you should try a few less next time."

"Sorry." Zipper said with a buzz.

In the living room, Chip ran the sweeper, while Gadget cleaned the viewing monitor. Dale walked in with the trash, and accidentally spilled it everywhere.

"What'd you do that for?" Chip said.

"It was an accident!" Dale said.

"You're an accident!" Chip shot back!

"No I'm not!" Dale said.

"Yes you…" Chip started, before turning around to look at Gadget, who was now staring a hole straight through him. "It's ok." He said through his teeth. "I'll help you clean it up."

Dale laughed. "You're so whipped." Gadget shot the same look at Dale. "Some people like that kinda thing." With a huff, Gadget went back to her cleaning.

At that point, Gadget grabbed her face, and fell off of the ladder she was standing on. Chip and Dale ran to her side. "You alright, Gadget?" She simply lay there, clutching her right cheek. "Dale, go get Monty, quick!" Dale ran out of the room.

"It's time." Something was familiar about that phrase. Taryn got up, and walked toward the door, which led into an aircraft hangar. He looked up and saw a large black aircraft, the crescent and bolt of the LWC emblazoned on its side. Rez stood in front of it. Taryn walked up to him.

"You aren't going in unprepared this time." Rez said. "We're sending you in the new IT45 Inter-dimensional Tactical Transport. It's similar in controls to a normal transport, but sports much more sophisticated technology."

"It's a bit big, isn't it?" Taryn said.

"It will serve as your base of operations for the trip. This is a stealth mission, meaning no use of powers." Rez said. "So we're sending you with enough gear to do your search without raising suspicion."

Taryn looked into the cargo hold of the craft. There were weapons lockers loaded with thunder blasters and lightning rifles, a few sabers here and there, and even a rocket launcher and a sniper rifle. There was also a vehicle strapped down to the floor.

"Yeah, real inconspicuous!" Taryn remarked.

"Hey, the only thing we're worried about is Bastion finding you." Rez said. "If he never knows you're there, all the better. The mission is simple: find, observe, and protect."

"Wait, what do you mean "observe"?" Taryn asked.

"We mean you are not to contact the target directly."

"What!?"

"It is for her good, Taryn." Rez pleaded. "On your last encounter, you suppressed her memory. We have yet to study the effects of introducing memory triggers to a person with suppressed memories. It could have a detrimental effect on her mental health."

"OK, you're right." Taryn's head hang.

"Once Bastion plays his card, you will need to take him out." Rez said. "He is extremely dangerous, and must be taken down at all cost."

Taryn's head rose back up, and he grabbed Rez's hand. "I won't fail!"

Rez returned the farewell. "May you always have power, friend."

With that, Rez left the platform. The intrepid warrior entered the craft, and got to his seat. He activated the main engines, which slowly came on. The uplift jets came on next, which lifted the craft into the air. The control room opened the hanger doors. The craft slowly crept out of the hanger. As soon as it was clear of the building, it sped off. Then, it sent a flash of light trough the air, opening a dimensional tear. A second blast provided the link, and the transport flew through.

"Gadget-luv! You a'right?" Monty asked his friend as she came to.

"Ugh. I think so." She sat up, still clutching her face.

"What happened?" Monty asked.

"I was cleaning," she said, "and Dale had just delivered one of his really bad puns," she looked at Dale, then back at Monty, "when all of the sudden, my cheek broke out in pain. It still hurts."

"Gee, I didn't know my puns hurt so bad." Dale joked.

"Not the time, Dale!" Chip said.

"Well you look a'right to me." Monty said. "Just one nasty shina' is all"

"Gadget, can you remember anyone ever hitting you that hard in the face?" Chip asked.

"Um…no." Gadget said. "I think I'd remember this."

"Are you sure?" Chip asked.

"I'm pretty sure." Gadget shot back. "I did get thrown from the ladder, you know."

"Well, we've got to find out about this 'phantom punch' before it hits you again." Chip stated. "And I think that the answer lies in that lovely head of yours."

"If you're thinking about having Foxy…" Gadget started.

"We are." Chip said. "I'm not going to let this go! If there's anything in there that can let us know what's wrong, we need to find it!"

Gadget felt defeated, but agreed to the procedure. "OK. But only me, Chip and Foxy. AND NO DALE!" She looked at Dale. "I don't want to wake up thinking I'm a chicken."

Dale shrugged. "That only happened once!"

"Taryn to base." Taryn said over his headset. He had assumed squirrel form, and the ship and its contents matched his size.

"Base Ops here. Good to see you made it." Rez responded. "Remember, don't tip our hand. Find her, and keep a low profile."

"Will do, I'm scanning for a place to touch down."

"That shouldn't be too hard…You'll…if…Taryn!..." Rez's voice began to break up.

"Base, can you hear me?" The signal had completely faded now. "REZ!" Nothing came back over the com. "Looks like I'm on my own, now."

Suddenly, a blast blew up beside him. It shook the ship quite violently, but did no damage. Taryn barely had the time to react before another shot came in, this one hitting home on the starboard engine.

"What was that?" Taryn turned on the radar to find a small, round orb's signature on the screen, and there was writing under the blip. "A trackerbot? They were all destroyed!"

Another shot hit the ship, launching Taryn out of his seat.


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: Her Mind's Guardian**

-The shadows, somewhere nearby-

A flaming wreck is visible on a screen. "I knew TIPA would make an attempt to stop my plans," the hulking form of Bastion can be seen viewing the action, "but surprise of surprises to me to see Taryn." He said that last bit with a hint of mocking musical tune.

The wreckage continued to burn, and these words appeared on the screen: TARGET ELIMINATED Bastion manipulated some controls, and the words RETURNING TO BASE appeared on the screen.

He turned and left the controls of the Trackerbot, and made his way to a shelf. On it, three more of the Trackerbots sat. "They let me know too much. Like the location of the last four remaining Trackerbots in existence." He ran his hand across one of their electronic eyes. "Relieving their previous owners of their burden was child's play."

The fourth bot flew in and took its place on the shelf. Bastion manipulated some more controls, slightly different than the others. "Now, to reprogram these bots to find my prey." The new screen showed these new words: NEW ORDERS: FIND GADGET HACKWRENCH, AND CAPTURE

"I will find that insignificant rodent, and finalize my vengeance."

Foxglove's room is full of rare artifacts from all facets of the occult. She was always fascinated with this stuff. Maybe that's why she became involved with Winifred, because she felt Winifred could teach her. But when the witch started to use Foxglove for evil, she started having second thoughts. The page-turner for her was Dale, the gutsy little chipmunk who showed her a new path. A righteous one.

One call by the Rangers to the Rescue Aid Society got Foxglove into their Witchcraft and Occult Training Center in Louisiana. She was a natural, excelling in potions and curses, but her specialty, above all else, was hypnotic interpretation. She displayed a natural ability to send her patients easily into hypnosis, and only needed to refine her skills interpreting the messages she received.

After a few years, she graduated with honors, and served with the RAS for a year, before coming back to the Rangers to help them with a mission. After this, she decided to stay on as a Ranger.

That was two years ago, and during that time, she has become an invaluable member of the team, guiding them out of sticky situations and getting valuable evidence out of even the most uncooperative witnesses. But now, she was required to perform her most difficult hypnotic session.

Her room featured no bed: naturally, she hung from the ceiling. So she could have a very comfortable and comprehensive hypnosis set. Sitting on the side of her couch was Gadget, preparing for what was to come.

"Now, we need to be careful in there." A very concerned Chip sat across from Gadget on a chair.

"Trust me, Chip, I've got this under control." Foxglove said as she was rummaging in a dresser, pulling out an object. She turned to Chip. "But just in case, hold onto this." She threw the pendant to him.

"What is this?" Chip asked as he looked over the pendant. It was solid gold, and had what appeared to be ancient Central American text.

"That's the Charm of Ti'colth. It was made by an Aztec witchdoctor to allow him safely pull people out of hypnosis, no matter how deep they were in."

Gadget turned to Foxglove, "You're not instilling me with a lot of confidence."

"It'll be just fine, but you're like my family, and I'm not taking any chances." Foxglove lit a few candles, and approached Gadget. "We're ready."

Foxglove placed one hand on the left side of Gadget's head, and the other on top. She looked deep into Gadget's eyes, as her own began to glow. "You are falling asleep, and I mean no harm." This was to put her patients at ease, and open them up to her. Gadget's eyes began to close, and her body fell limp. Foxglove guided her body down peacefully onto the couch, lying back. She leaned in and whispered "Can you hear me?"

Gadget's response was delayed, but eventually, "Yes, I can."

"Good, what do you see?"

"I see a great plains."

Foxglove turned to Chip. "The plains of the mind. She's okay." Turning back to her patient. "Do you see anything on the horizon?"

Gadget's face twisted momentarily, and then she responded. "I see a dark area a ways off."

"Can you go there now?"

"Yes."

"Go there."

"OK." Gadget's journey through her mind was long. But after a few minutes, she responded again. "OK, I'm here."

Foxglove perked up. "What do you see?"

"I see a large, black dome. It's opaque, and I can't see through it."

Chip jumped in. "Look around, are there any markings on the dome."

Gadget's face twisted again, and her head moved slightly as if she were looking around. Finally, she responded. "I can see a series of letters."

"What are they?"

"L-W-C. I don't understand. What could this…" Gadget stopped mid sentence.

Chip leaned toward Gadget. "Gadget, you OK?"

Gadget responded, her voice lower than normal. "If you are here. Then you have the help of a powerful hypnotic. Identify yourself."

Chip stood up, clenching the charm in his fist, but was stopped by Foxglove, who closed in to Gadget. "My name is Foxglove. Who are you, and why are you there."

"I am the guardian. I am a shadow of the person who placed this mental block, and I am here to protect it." Gadget sat straight up, and opened her eyes, only they were glowing red. "If you care for your friend here, you will leave this block alone!" After this ominous warning, her eyes closed, and she fell back onto the couch.

Foxglove grabbed the charm from Chip, and asked. "Are you there Gadget?"

After a few seconds, she responded. "Yes."

Foxglove turned to Chip. "Let the others know what happened here, I will pull her out."

"Sir, we have been unable to reestablish connection with Taryn." A technician reported to his superior.

Rez's fist hit the control panel in front of him. "Very well. Go with the second option."

The technician got on the radio, and initiated the order. "Second option is a go. Dimensional transport has been approved."

On the other side of the radio as another transport, laden with warriors, and armed for combat. "Order received, initiating rift generator." The laser that generated the rift in space-time shot out from the front of the craft opening up a tear in the sky, which opened up to the size of the craft. "Activating targeting laser, target dimension RR117." The second laser shot out, and as the shot approached the rift, it hit, and bounced off.

"That's weird." The copilot had a worried look on his face. He turned to the pilot. "What do we do now, sir?"

His face contorted in determination. "We try again. Activating targeting laser." He pushed the button harder, which did nothing but satisfy his need to put everything he had into it. The laser shot out again, and again the laser bounced off. The ship continued to approach the open rift. "Abort mission, something's wrong with the targeting laser."

The ship turned around and returned to base, leaving the rift to close on its own, which it did rather quickly.

Back in the command center, Rez's head hang down. "We better hope Taryn's OK, because he's all we got."

It had been five minutes since Chip left the room, and he had been discussing the situation with Dale, Monty, and Zipper.

"So, Gadget-luv has some kinda mental block in 'er head?" Monty said.

"Yeah, and we know it's going to be hard to crack." Chip slumped in frustration.

"Don't worry, Chip." Dale comforted his longest friend. "She'll pull through. In the meantime, let's use what we have to solve this mystery."

Chip picked up his head, and put a face of conviction on. "You're right! We need to find this out for Gadget."

"What all do we know?" Dale sat back down.

"We know that the block is in the shape of a dome, and it has the letters L-W-C on it."

"Did you say LWC?" Dale shot up.

"What's up, Dale me'boy?" Monty said.

"Be right back." Dale ran back down the hall.

A frantic rustling could be heard in the back, as Dale searched through his room. The rustling stopped, and his footsteps could be heard running back, but stopped short. "NO DALE, I WILL NOT MAKE HERE ACT LIKE A SWASHBUCKLING PIRATE CAPTAIN! NOW GET OUT!" The door slammed, and Dale's footsteps could be heard coming up the hallway again.

Dale emerged in the doorway, and sat down. The others were glaring at him. "What? Oh yeah, like you wouldn't laugh your butts off to see it." He sat the object he had been looking for on the table.

Chip looked angry. "A comic book! Are you serious?"

"Look again, Chip!"

Chip did look down, and immediately noticed the title of the comic book. "LWC: Warrior Chronicles. I don't believe it."

"That's a might too much to be a coincidence, mate." Monty rubbed his chin.

"But this can't be it!" Chip said. "It can't be that simple."

"It could be." Foxglove emerged from the hallway. Gadget followed behind her, walking in and slumping into a chair

"You OK, Gadget?" Chip asked.

"No, I'm not." Gadget said as she half cried. "There's a part of my memory that I can't get to."

"We'll help you get it back." Dale said.

She picked up the comic book. "And this is your idea!" She threw the comic at Dale.

"Calm down, Gadget." Foxglove turned to everyone. "As I was saying as I walked in, Dale may not be far off."

"How so?" Chip asked.

"There's a popular theory in the occult community that creative writing, in all its forms, is a doorway to a different dimension." Foxglove picked up the comic, which was opened to a page with a fit, male human. "This could very well be pictures from another dimension."

Gadget looked up, and the person caught her eye. "That's him!"

All the other Rangers snapped to attention at this. "What?" Chip exclaimed.

"That's the guardian!" Gadget pointed at the figure, now with conviction.

Chip looked to Dale. "Dale, this is your department. What do you know about this guy?"

"He's the son of one of the greatest dark-powered warriors ever. He's a good guy." Dale said.

"Do you know his name?" Gadget implored.

"Yeah, it's Taryn Corin-Johnston!"

Gadget gasped.


	6. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5: Mysterious Figure**

Taryn's eyes opened slowly, to see fire and smoke. Struggling to focus, he could see that he was slumped over the controls. He looked at his hands, which were bloodied, his gloves torn up. He raised himself up gingerly, but made it up, and immediately began to stumble backward into the back wall of the cockpit.

He regained his balance, and limped forward to the control panel. He touched the contact screen, which did nothing. He knew the vehicle had no power. He turned around, and made for the cargo bay door. He pushed the contact; the auto-door opened a few inches, and then stopped. He pushed the contact again, but to no avail. He reached up, opening a panel covering a small, red handle. He pulled the manual release, which held for a few seconds before giving with a clank. He pushed the door open.

Upon opening the door, he realized the cockpit had detached from the rest of the craft. The rest of the ship lay only a few meters from him. He moved toward it, ducking under the crumpled roof of the ship, and saw that the cargo was, while a bit disarranged, still there and intact. He went about quickly removing straps from the vehicle in the middle of the bay.

Suddenly, an alarm rang out from one of the monitors. He looked up to see the following: WARNING: IRREPARABLE DAMAGE TO CRAFT DETECTED He began to work faster, ignoring the monitor's next gargled warning: INITIATING PROTOCOL 666

He yanked the last strap free and pulled off the cover to reveal an Urban Assault Vehicle (UAV) Type 280, also known as a Sprinter, a dune buggy-like combat vehicle. It had a single seat, centered, a cargo shelf behind it, and had a wheel and controls in front of it. It had a manual transmission, and big, knobby tires. The engine was large for the vehicle's size, and its exhaust stuck out noticeably. As a combat vehicle, the Sprinter had twin forward machine guns and an auto-turret on the top.

He grabbed as many weapons as he could, as well as a few boxes of ammo-cells. As he was doing this, a countdown had started on the screen, starting at sixty. He looked up in time to see it was now at thirty-five seconds, so he began to enter the Sprinter, but stopped short and frantically looked around. He saw what he was looking for: a large case, roughly one meter long, thirty centimeters tall, and ten centimeters wide. He ran over to grab it, limping as little as possible. He grabbed the case and looked up: twenty seconds. He jumped across the front of the buggy, throwing the case in the back, and climbed in. Fifteen seconds! He started it up, gunning the engine, which produced a throaty roar. Ten seconds! He fired the forward guns, shooting the main door into Swiss cheese. He threw the vehicle into gear, and gunned the engine, and the car shot forward, through the close door.

The vehicle blasted through the door, and accelerated quickly. The aircraft had reached the end of its countdown, and was quickly enveloped in a dark glow.

It was quickly realized that any mission could fail, leaving equipment which could affect the flow of things in the dimension they were in. There were two ways to solve this. If the mission was open, they could send a cleanup crew to recover the material. However, in a covert mission, it was determined that a quicker means of disposal would be required. Thus was created Protocol 666. This procedure would (upon detection that equipment of sufficient size was destroyed) trigger the computer of said craft to overload the reactor for the rift generator, creating a cascade implosion which would destroy, down to the last atom, all matter within the implosion's radius.

The blast was large, but Taryn made it out in time. He stopped the vehicle to survey the damage. The craft was completely gone, as well as everything else. He sighed in relief, and slumped back into the seat.

In the shadows behind him, however, he was being watched by a black clad figure. As he drove off, the newcomer followed him.

Never before had Dale been turn to for his expert opinion. When they needed to know about different locales and native cultures, they turn to Monterey. When the subject was science and technology, Gadget provided most of the insight. When you need to know about the paranormal, Foxglove's training came into play. For legal matters, Chip was the man. Even Zipper was looked to from time to time for his personal knowledge of entomology.

But Dale, he didn't really have an area of study that was useful. That tends to happen when you devote your life to cartoons, comics, movies, and sweet snacks. He was pretty good in combat, but wasn't really useful otherwise.

So, it's a surprise that the Rangers were now looking to him for exclusive expert advice. He was in his room now, rifling through his entire collection. A comic here, a model there: he needed to gather up as much as he could to school the team on the LWC.

The team had moved to the common room. They were sitting on the couch, awaiting their expert. Dale came in with a bunch of stuff in his arms. He set it down on the table, and started.

"Years ago, in their world, a meteor crashed into the earth from another world." He showed them a picture in a comic of a mountain. "That meteor became known as Thunder Mountain, for the frequency of lightning storms around it. The mountain not only affected the weather, but it also changed the primitive humans who lived around its base. They developed an affinity for lightning. And some even learned to control it. They became known as Lightning Warriors." He then showed them a cover for a comic which featured large group of humans standing with their fists in the air, with electricity sparking around them.

"So, these humans are benevolent?" Gadget inquired calmly.

"I don't know about that, but they're heroes for sure." Dale exclaimed, shuffling through his books, pulling out one in particular. It was a hard-cover graphic novel, which had a symbol on the cover: an upturned crescent with an overlaying bolt. He lay in down with a thud. He opened the book up to the center, and a look of confidence came across his face.

He looked up, and everyone was intently watching him. This was a first for him. Everyone was depending on him for his knowledge of the situation. It was really exciting. "We should get started."

Mount Fuji, Japan

The mountain now lay dormant. Many years have passed since it was last active. It was a violent eruption which split the sky in two. The eruption was so violent, the lake at the base of the mountain dried up, and the people fled. They had only, a few at a time, started to return.

A Japanese scientist was on the mountain, taking measurements of seismic activity. His assistant was visibly nervous. She could barely work, let alone help the scientist.

Would you relax! It's a myth. The scientist said in Japanese.

It's not a myth! It happened. I can read. The assistant was nervously fumbling equipment. She almost dropped a wrench, which the scientist caught.

He grasped her hands. Listen. He said calmly. There were no demons here, fighting to the death. It was just an eruption.

But I saw…

There are no demons! As he said this, the hulking form of Bastion Kilmartin landed near them. The scientist turned and screamed. Bastion grabbed the scientist and threw him across the dried lakebed. He then turned to the assistant.

Go on, tell everyone the demons are back! He said in perfect Japanese. To this, the assistant fled quickly.

"That should keep them away while I do my work."

Gadget sat on the edge of the landing branch, her feet dangling. She was staring at the ground, deep in thought. She was holding a cup of coffee, swishing it around, every now and then, she took a sip. Her mind, as usual, was racing, but this time, it wasn't swirling with ideas for new inventions. It was full of questions. Questions she intended to have answered.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Chip sat down beside her.

"None of this makes any sense." She showed her frustration.

"How so?"

"There's a whole portion of my life I know nothing about." Gadget took a drink. "Whenever I try to remember it, I know the block will prevent me."

"Yeah," Chip tried to comfort her, "so why think about it?"

"Because I can't help it!" She shot straight up, and threw her cup at the Rangerwing which sat nearby. It shattered upon impact. "It's my mind! They're my memories, and I want them back!" She began to cry.

Chip stood up, and came over to Gadget. He embraced her. "It's ok. We'll find out, we always do."

"I don't remember how my father died." She whimpered. "What if that's in there?" She was again in a full sob.

Chip stood with her for a minute, letting her get it out. When she began to calm down, he reiterated. "It's alright. The answers are out there. And we will find them."

Gadget looked down. "There's something else."

"What's that?"

"Something is coming." She said solemnly. "I don't know what it is, but I know it's coming, and it's going to be dangerous."

Chip pushed her away, holding her at arm's length. "Then let's go, right now!" He pointed to the Rangerwing. "We'll get to the bottom of this!"

Gadget sniffled, and wiped off her eyes. "OK, but I'm flying!"

Dale and Foxglove were in the common room, gathering his things. They were discussing their new goal: how to break the mental block.

"So, what you're saying is, the block is mechanically induced?" Foxglove inquired as she picked up a book.

"Yeah, has to be." Dale was stacking his comics neatly as he put them into their box. "They don't have that power, but I wouldn't put it past them to invent something that could do that."

"So someone from their dimension, I assume named Taryn, came here and blocked Gadget's memories?"

"I know. It doesn't make any sense." Dale sat down, and Foxglove sat next to him. "They wouldn't do something like that unless they had to. What were they trying to block?"

They sat there for a second, before they heard the roar of the Rangerwing's engines. They looked at each other puzzled, and then rushed to the door. Dale opened it just as the aircraft sped off.

"Go find out, guys." Dale said softly. Foxglove hugged him. "Good luck."


	7. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6: The Chase**

As the evening rolled along, Taryn found himself in a familiar place. He had gone there looking for a friend, but quickly realized she wasn't there. He looked around as he walked through the main hall. There were many strange devices. They all had cobwebs and dust on them, and looked as though they hadn't been disturbed in years.

He approached one of the devices: a large, ax-like device. He wiped away at the dust, discovering that it is very thick. He looked at the dust: it was regular dust, nothing special. The device began to creak. It was a trap, and he tripped it!

The ax came down at him. He flipped back, avoiding the strike. As he did that, he landed on a pressure mat, which tripped the next trap. He heard a slow gurgled, followed by a low roar, and a "fwoosh" sound as the fire shot out at him. He ran from the flames, hitting switches left and right, tripping multiple traps. Some knifes flew in at him. A bow shot an arrow, which he barely dodged. A large boulder came crashing down, cracking the floor itself.

He dove for cover as a swarm of darts came down upon him. He looked up to see that he had entered the house proper: the place Gadget Hackwrench once called home. It too looked as if it had been abandoned for a great deal of time. He looked up and saw that the launching pad was empty and, as everything else, was covered in dust and cobwebs.

"The Eagle's been gone for a while." He walked into Gadget's room, finding it left in perfect order, aside from the dust. He sighed and sunk his head. "So has Gadget." He opened the drawers, and found them empty. "Wherever she went, she meant to go there. Now where is she?"

As Taryn closed the drawers, he heard a crashing noise. His hand immediately went to his hip and drew his blaster. He turned around and took a defensive stance. He made his way back out toward the main hall, and saw a bearing rolling across the floor. He relaxed, and re-holstered his sidearm. He chuckled, and shook his head. "She really did hate salesmen."

He turned around and walked back toward the living area. In the shadows of the main hall, the black clad figure stood flat against a wall. In a distinctly feminine voice, she said, under her breath, "Stupid, stupid, stupid! I'm gonna get myself caught." She looked around the corner, and saw him looking out the window.

He was looking at the pair of small headstones which lay across the way. Solemnly, he turned around, and made his way out of the building. His "shadow" followed him carefully. He walked up to the headstones.

"Hey Geegaw, been a while." He knelt down. "I've been meaning to come back here for some time. I just wish it didn't have to be in this context." He reached into his pocket, and pulled out a worn pair of goggles. "These have seen me through many a mission. I thank you for their service, and return them to you." He placed the goggles on the stone. "A hard fight is coming, and I promise you this. I will risk everything to protect Gadget." He turned away, and walked off.

He looked around and sighed. "I'm not going to find anything here." He began to walk towards the Sprinter. "I'd better head toward the city, to see if I can find anything there."

Taryn started the engine, and sped off. As he left the area, the black clad figure stepped out of the shadow. She sighed. "How am I supposed to catch this guy if he keeps taking off?" She started to run in the direction Taryn drove.

The sun had begun to set. It was a particularly beautiful day, which was turning into a wonderful night. Everything added up to a great day, but for some reason, the pilot of the Rangerwing could not shake the grim feeling she had. For years she had been in complete control of her life. Everything she had done from the time she joined the Rangers she had meant to do. The inventions she created; the degrees she earned; the fun she had had; all of it was intentionally her own choice. Even in love. Though that puzzle was infinitely harder to solve, she finally decided on one, and Chip had never been better.

But for the first time since she could remember, Gadget Hackwrench was not in control of her own destiny. She could feel the hand of fate leading her, and she hated it. She was usually a peaceful soul. She never meant ill will towards anyone, even her enemies. But this was different. Apparently, she did have her triggers, and this situation seemed to hit every single one.

And her mood showed in her flying. Chip had never felt particularly comfortable with flying, but always managed a straight face. He found that difficult today. His girlfriend seemed hell bent on pushing the reengineered craft to its limit and beyond.

The Rangerwing had undergone major surgery recently. As a reward from a recent client, the Rangers acquired two fully functional model jet engines, which were perfect for replacing the aging motors of the Rangerwing. But to fit them, the wings would need to be redesigned for a more swept back configuration, and the batteries would need to be removed to make room for fuel tanks. All in all, the project took Gadget three months, but the results showed. The 'Wing was now able to reach Mach 0.5, which for something its size is pretty fast. She was even able to engineer a Harrier-like vertical take-off system, allowing the craft to maintain its utility. But with the way she was flying it, it may not survive its maiden flight.

After she went into a sharp climb, followed by a quick roll into a loop, Chip finally spoke up. "Jeez, Gadget, what're you trying to do here?"

Gadget responded in an uncharacteristically stern voice. "I have to put her through her paces." She then put the craft into a steep dive, rolling sharply along the way, and just before hitting the ground, pulled up and leveled out.

Chip was sideways in his seat. As he righted himself, he said, "Looks to me like you're still a bit angry."

She tilted her head from side to side, as if thinking. "OK, I'll give you that. But don't I have a right to be."

"Yes, but if you don't focus, we'll never find you any answers."

Gadget closed her eyes and sighed. She then opened her eyes and flew less aggressively. "You're right. So, what do we know?"

Chip started. "Well, we know there's a mental block in your mind."

"Put in place by a so-called benevolent extra-dimensional human."

"Somehow tied in with a faction from a comic book called the LWC."

"And now, some kind of psychological link has told me there's something coming." Gadget finished.

Chip had turned around and noticed a large metal sphere floating behind them. As they flew, it opened up in quarters, and octopus-like arms came out from the gaps. A red eye lit up in the center. "Um, Gadget. I think their already here."

The roar of the V10 engine in the Sprinter could be heard distinctly from a distance, despite its current diminutive size. Its driver was in definitive search mode, actively visually scanning the area for any sign of the ace pilot. But no matter how hard he tried, the trail was going cold.

Taryn sighed in frustration. "I have no idea where to look." He looked up into the night sky. "What am I going to do now?"

As he said this, an explosion went off in the distance. "That was an energy blast!" He turned the wheel, squalling to his right, and racing towards another energy explosion. As he rounded the next corner, he saw two large floating orbs in the sky, and it caused him to put on a determined look. "Trackerbots!"

Another trackerbot came around the corner and fired at him. "Whatever it is their doing here matters little. I need to take out some frustration, and you're it!" He toggled a few switches, and the turret on the top of the vehicle came to life. It rose up and pointed towards its target. The barrels began to spin on the Gatling-like gun, and shortly after, shots rang out in a quick burst.

Shots rang out as the Rangerwing sped along. Gadget was doing her best to evade the shots, and had thus far put in a good effort. But the shots were coming closer and closer to hitting their mark. One such shot grazed the left wing. "This thing is learning. I don't know how much longer I can keep this up."

Chip, who had by now made his way to the rear of the craft, pulled on a handle, which caused the rear plunger gun to free from its bindings. He spun around the gun, placing his shoulders in the rests. "Let's see if I can buy us some time." He squared up his shot and fired, sending a plunger right into the robot's central eye. It began to fly erratically, as if blinded.

After they had opened some distance, Gadget turned around, and squared up on the robot. "Now, let's do this."

"Um, Gadget, I don't mean to pry, but what are we doing." Chip said as he jumped back into his seat.

"Trying out the new main gun." Gadget flipped a safety switch, which opened a door which ran the length of the underside. Then, a modified rifle swung out and locked into place. "After some of the stuff we've had to go through over the past few years, I added this to the Rangerwing."

Chip was hanging over the edge. He then said, with a little horror, "Is that a BB gun?"

"Oh heavens no!"

Chip sighed in relief.

"It's a Remington Model 597 22LR Rifle, slightly modified, of course."

"WHAT!?"

"Times have gotten tough." As she said this, a lever rose out of the center console. "We need to get tougher." A target sight rose out of the front of the craft, right in front of Gadget. She maneuvered the Rangerwing to line it up with the target. After she did this, she pulled on the lever, and the gun fired. The shot hit dead center, and exploded.

Chip recoiled in his seat. "Were those explosive rounds?"

"I hollowed out the bullet and put an explosive compound in it."

The wreckage from the now destroyed robot plummeted to the ground, and crashed right in front of Taryn as he sped along. He swerved around it as it exploded.

Chip turned toward Gadget, and put his hand on her shoulder. She looked down on it, and then up at him. He said, "We need to talk." As he said this, another robot appeared behind them, with a charged blast aimed at them. They both cringed, when suddenly the trackerbot was forced to back away because it was taking multiple shots. It looked down to reveal the shots came from a turret on a vehicle below.

Taryn flipped a switch, and two rockets came out from either side of the turret. It stopped firing, and one of the rockets shot towards the robot. Before it could move, the rocket hit square and blew up the robot.

The remaining two trackerbots turned around and fled. Taryn spun around and chased after them. As he turned, Gadget noticed the crescent and bolt symbol on the side of the vehicle. "Chip, it's an LWC vehicle!"

"Yeah, I saw it. We need to talk to him." Chip sat back as Gadget opened the throttle and sped ahead.

Taryn chased his quarry very closely, but was losing ground. He focused the turret on the closest robot, and opened fire. The shots rang off of the body of the robot, with little effect. The second rocket shot off, and blew off one of the robot's arms, but it kept flying. They had gotten away.

Taryn slowed down, but before he could stop, an explosion went off near him. He looked up to see the Rangerwing bearing down on him. "That's the thanks I get for saving your life, you ingrate." As he yelled this, he noticed who was at the controls. 'It's Gadget! Crap, I can't let her see me.' He put his foot down and charged off.

Chip looked at Gadget in horror. "Jeez, Gadget, take it easy with the gun! We won't be able to find anything out if he's dead!"

"How the heck else am I going to stop him." She said as she pulled back the lever and fired another shot.

"I know, but it seems a little overkill." Chip said as the shot exploded to the right of the vehicle, which swerved around. "How about we talk to him?"

"If he wanted to talk, he wouldn't be running."

"I know, but…" Gadget interrupted him with another shot. "…we don't hurt others!"

Gadget stopped firing for a second, and thought for a minute. As she did this, Taryn turned sharply around a corner. Gadget flew past the turn. "Oh shoot!" She pulled hard in the stick and turned the craft around.

Taryn kept going and suddenly noticed a female squirrel in an opening waving him into an open door. He drove the Sprinter in, and the female quickly closed the door.

Taryn turned off the vehicle, and climbed out. He looked up to his rescuer. "Thanks for the save, miss." He extended his hand, and received a punch to the face, knocking him out.

The female squirrel, with a large, electrically-charged metal fist on her hand, sighed and said, "Jeez, you are infuriating."

Gadget flew around the corner, seeing no sign of the vehicle. "Shoot! Lost him!"

Chip looked down. "Not quite, look." He pointed at the tire marks leading into a door. "Looks like he went in there. Land here!"

"Roger." Gadget initiated the landing sequence, which automatically retracted the rifle back into the craft. The Rangerwing landed, and the engines wound down.

The two rangers jumped out, and Chip pulled out a small battery flashlight, which he turned on. He noticed the door was unlocked. He pulled out a small stick from coat. He flicked his wrist, and it extended out to four times its own length. "Be ready for anything." He handed the light to Gadget, and grabbed the handle on the door. He opened it to reveal the Sprinter, and little else.

"Shoot, he's gone." Gadget exclaimed. They both walked in cautiously. Gadget approached the vehicle, and as she got up to it, a light came on, and she was staring right at the crescent and bolt symbol of the LWC. She turned around quickly to see that Chip had found a light switch. "Golly, Chip!"

"Sorry." Chip said, with a little chuckle. "I'm going to look around."

She looked over the vehicle, and saw that it wasn't some plastic model made to work. No, it was the real deal: all steel construction, real working seatbelts, real working guns. She whistled in amazement. "Where ever this came from, it's the genuine article."

Chip came out from behind some crates. "No other way out, from what I can see. He's gone for sure." He walked up to Gadget. "Wow, you're right."

"What now?"

"We take our evidence home and investigate" Chip put his hand on one of the side rails, "I'm driving."


	8. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7: The Game Pieces are Set**

Taryn opened his eyes to an almost empty room. It was easily recognizable. He was seated in a chair pushed up to a table. His wrists were bound to the arms of the chair, as his ankles were to its legs. To his right was a large mirror, obviously a one-way mirror. Across the table was an empty chair, behind which was a door. He was in an interrogation room.

'Well, that's just great.' He thought as he tried to break his bindings. 'If I could use my powers, I would be free in an instant.' He thought that, noticing the upset feeling deep in the pit of his stomach. He looked up to notice the large, electrical-looking device in the center of the ceiling. 'There must be a power-damping field here. But how could they know? Who has me?'

As if on cue, the door opened, and a female squirrel walked in with a stack of folders, closing the door behind her. She walked up to the chair, and took a seat, placing the folders on the table.

"Welcome, outsider." She sifted through one of the folders. She took out a picture, and placed it on the table in front of Taryn. He noticed it immediately: it was of himself on his first mission here.

"Where am I?" He threw that out to see if he could get a bite.

"You're sitting in a chair inside of an interrogation room, and that's all you need to know." He got nothing.

"Who are you?" Another shot.

"You can call me Agent T." Strike two.

"What do you want from me?" Last try.

He hit this time. "I want to know why you are here." She threw another picture at him. It was of him and Gadget at the aircraft graveyard. "I want to know how you know Miss Hackwrench." She opened another folder, and threw a third picture at him. It was of his fight with Bastion. "I want to know where you got your powers."

"I'm not talking until you tell me what's going on."

She looked at him through a furrowed brow for a moment. She then spoke. "Very well, I'll get to it. You were here approximately five years ago, and in the time you were here, a number of strange events occurred. First, strange little demons appeared all over the city." She showed him a picture of a temporal sprite chewing on a mailbox. "Second, vivid, short-lived lightning storms occurred in the vicinity of the Municipal Airport. Third, the long dormant Mount Fuji erupted." She stood up. "Then, shortly afterwards, you disappeared."

Taryn looked on the whole time, not showing much of a change in emotion.

Agent T. had made her way around the table, and was now standing over Taryn. She cleared here throat, and finished. "Now, you tell me, what dimension are you from and why are you here?"

Taryn sat there looking at his interrogator, perplexed.

Gadget touched down on the landing branch. It was late. Midnight late. Many of the others had gone to sleep, but when the Rangerwing lands, it usually wakes up one or two. Foxglove (who was, naturally, already awake) greeted her. As she walked up to Gadget, she was met with a request.

"Can you fly me down to the garage?" Gadget asked. "There's something I want to look at."

"What would that be?"

Just as the last part of that question left Foxglove's lips, the roar of the Sprinter's engine pierced the night sky. A wry smile crossed Gadget's face. "I found a new toy!"

"What's all of this about dimensions and stuff?" Taryn asked.

Agent T. shoved him. "Don't play with me!" She screamed, and then calmly said, "We know about you." She pulled the chair around the table and sat next to Taryn. She then waved to the window.

The door opened shortly after, and a mouse in a lab coat entered the room, with still more folders. He was small: short and thin, with a slightly gaunt face. Even with this, he didn't look sickly. He walked up to the table, and opened one of the folders, reading, "At 5:15 AM this morning, a quantum disturbance with the energy profile of an inter-dimensional displacement occurred at the altitude of 400ft and lasted ten seconds." He sat down that folder, and opened the next. "At 5:30 AM, another inter-dimensional displacement occurred, lasting only 4 seconds. Upon review of the scene, a large, spherical crater was found."

Agent T. nudged Taryn. "Oh! Here comes the good part!"

He finished. "Agent T. arrived on the scene as the last displacement occurred, and trailed your vehicle, following you to the Municipal Airport, and then downtown, where you engaged in a firefight with robotic drones originating from another dimension, and the Rescue Rangers Gabriella Hackwrench and Charles Maplewood."

There was a pause. After a minute of them staring at each other, Taryn broke the silence. "So…his name is Chuck?"

"His friends call him Chip!" Agent T. seemed to get agitated by this.

Taryn smirked a bit. "Do I sense some feelings there?"

Agent T. got very frustrated. "NO!" The scientist snorted, to which the agent admonished. "That's plenty well enough, thank you!" The scientist left the room.

"So…got dumped?" Taryn kept at her.

She looked up, letting out a labored sigh. "No." She left the room. Taryn sat there alone for a few moments. He looked down at his bindings, fidgeting a bit. The door opened again, and Agent T. walked back in with the fist weapon on. She showed it to Taryn. "You know what this is?"

"Can I thank that for this shiner?" He motioned to his left eye.

"Yes. We call this the ShockFist." She grabbed one side of the table and threw it to the side, scattering pictures and papers everywhere. She then grabbed her chair, and sat it in front of Taryn, which she then sat in. Then, she looked down at the fist, almost admiringly. "Do you know why?"

"Enlighten me."

She grabbed a few photos to her left. "Since the last time you were here, we have been studying your people." She threw one photo at him, hard, and said more aggressively. "We have been planning," she threw another at him, harder, "waiting," she threw the last one at him, which landed in his lap, "hoping to answer the most important question."

"Which is what?"

Agent T. stood up, grabbing his shirt with her left hand; she pushed him and his chair back into the wall behind him. She held the fist in up behind her and stood as if she would hit him. "Who are you, and why have you come here?"

She let go of him, and he landed back down with a clunk. He sat there, looking down at the picture still in his lap. "This guy, right here," he motioned to the picture of him fighting Bastion, "he escaped, and wants to destroy your world. I'm here to stop him."

1:25AM.

Dale always watched late night movies. And he has never made it all of the way through a single one. He falls asleep on the couch every night. Gadget once said that there were two things she expected to see every morning: Monterey Jack and Zipper up early cooking breakfast and Dale sprawled out on the couch.

Foxglove also knew this was where she would find him. She was sent to get the expert to help with an actual artifact from the LWC. But in this time of urgency, she could not help herself but smile. He lay there, clutching a pillow in one hand, and a candy wrapper in the other. She looked at him for a moment more, before realizing the gravity of the situation.

"Sweety?" She said softly. "Wake up."

He grunted and shuffled where he lay.

"Dale, we need you to wake up." She said this a little bit louder.

"But I don't want to go to school, mommy!" He grumbled and went back to sleep.

Foxglove tiptoed up to him, leaned over the back of his couch next to his ear. "DALE!" she screamed.

Dale jumped off of the couch onto his feet. His eyes grew wide, as he stood at attention. "Yes?"

"Chip and Gadget are back." Foxglove said. "And they brought home presents!"

To this, they both went down to the workshop.

The trackerbots flew into a cave in the side of a mountain. Inside was a makeshift workshop. They flew up to a docking unit, and landed. The damaged one had trouble seating correctly. A pair of beastly hands grabbed the robot and placed him down onto the pedestal.

"Only two of you remain, hmm?" Bastion growled out. He pressed a few buttons on the keyboard in front of him, and the screen lit up with their battle with Chip and Gadget. "Did you at least accomplish your mission?" He wound the dials around and stopped the playback at one point to see on of the bots fire a bolt at the aircraft in front of it. After the smoke cleared, he could clearly see a small device attached to the craft that had not been there before. "Perfect. You did ge..." In mid-sentence, he noticed the image of the Sprinter on the ground, with Taryn at the wheel. "NOOOOO!" He blasted both trackerbots, and they exploded. "You failed."

Bastion waved his hand and a rift opened in space-time and three small, imp-like creatures crawl through. They ran up, and bow down before him. Bastion waved his hand before them.

"Report!" He commanded.

"All troops are ready, sire." One of them said.

A screen lit up behind Bastion, and he pointed at the dot in the middle of the map that came up. "This is you target. Your portals will open here, here, and here." He pointed again at three different locations, which lit up as he pointed. "You will position for incursion on the target, and take this creature into custody." As he said this, a picture of Gadget came up on screen.

"What do we do to anyone else?" Another one asked.

Bastion glared at him. "Kill them, you dolt!"

The third one asked, "What of Taryn, sir."

"He is, unfortunately, still alive." Bastion growled out. "Is the contingency ready?"

"It was hard at first, but we successfully cultivated the samples you gave us into a stable subject, and gained control of it."

A grin crossed Bastion's grisly visage. "Excellent."

"UAV Type 280!" Dale exclaimed on entering the workshop. "Where did you get this?"

"The driver engaged a group of robotic drones that were attacking us." Chip responded. "We followed him and he escaped, but he left his goodies."

"Goodies?" Dale said with glee as he held up a pair of pistols. "Sisson Model D8 Conversion Auto-Pistols. Can be used as dual-wielded pistols, or combined into a carbine."

"There's another whole case of those here." Gadget displayed. "As well as these long guns."

"Hunter 8's. Mid to long range rifles." Dale put down the pistols, and picked up one of the rifles. "In the hands of a good marksman, able to hit a target at 3000 yards."

"Scale, of course." Gadget added. "But what's in this?" She pointed down at a locked case.

"Don't know." Dale said, as he picked it up, he let out a labored grunt. "Whatever this is, it's heavy!"

"It's locked." Foxglove pointed at the two square red latches. "Let me have a look." She had a few skills she still held onto from her life of crime. One of them was lock-picking, which does come in handy. She attempted to open the case. After a minute, she commented, "And we won't know what's in it anytime soon: it's locked tight."

"Well, I'm holding onto it." Dale said as he took the case.

"Why, it's useless." Chip said.

"Because it's made of high-density carbon-fiber with a Lexan coating."

Everyone dropped what they were doing and stared at Dale for a moment. After and awkward eternity, Gadget finally broke the silence. "How do you know that?"

"It's the material that the UAV's roll cage is made of, and they feel the same."

"Oh."

"Here's the real question: Why would he need all of this?" Chip asked. "This is a lot of hardware for one guy. What are we facing?"

After he said this, a large boom could be heard. They all went to the window, and saw a large tear in the middle of the air right near the ground. After a second, more tears formed, until dozens of holes were opened, all in a row. Imp-like creatures emerged from the openings, all with red glowing eyes.

"Temporal sprites!" Dale said as he turned around and picked up a Hunter 8. He pulled back the gun's slide, which made a click sound, and as he released it, it clicked again and made a high pitched whining sound, which quickly went away. He looked to Chip. "You had to say it, didn't you?"

"Even if I did believe you," Agent T had sat back into her chair, taking off the ShockFist and setting it aside, "and I don't, mind you, what makes you think we can't handle this?"

"You can't handle him. You will need me." Taryn showed genuine concern in his face. "This guy is a nightmare. When we captured him, it mutated him with spliced DNA from temporal sprites. We believe he may have some control over the sprites, as well as the ability to open tears in space-time at will. He may control an army, primed to strike wherever, whenever he wants."

Agent T snorted as he finished, and was about to say something, when the scientist from before charged in. "Rescue Ranger headquarters is under attack!"

Agent T shot up. "Who is it?"

The scientist showed Agent T a chart on a clipboard. "Some kind of creatures, short and demonic."

"Temporal sprites." Taryn said from his chair. "How many?"

"At current count, 200. But they keep coming out of the 26 individual inter-dimensional displacements." The scientist said as he walked past Agent T, and took the chart to Taryn. "Their on the northern and eastern flanks of the tree."

"Defenses?" Taryn asked.

"Hey! What are you doing?" Agent T butted in.

"Under the circumstances, I think we can trust he's telling the truth."

"Maybe, but for all we know, he planned it!"

The scientist sighed, "Doubtful, as if he did, we would probably be dead by now." He turned back to Taryn. "Minimal, as Rescue Ranger headquarters has never been attacked before."

"That's not good. Get me out of here; I've got work to do."

"No you don't, he's staying here!" Agent T stepped in and grabbed the scientist's arm. "We can take care of this. We can't risk losing him."

"Not if we use the collar."

"Excuse me, what's 'the collar'?" Taryn interjected.

The scientist left the room. "A portable version of that." Agent T pointed up at the power damper. "It will keep you in check." She then picked up the table, and set it back in the middle of the room. She then went around the table and pushed Taryn back up to the table. "Make sure you don't run off again. It was so hard to catch you."

Moments later, the scientist reentered the room, with a case in his hands. He set it on the table and opened it. Inside was a round, metal collar with a circular clasp, and a remote control. Agent T picked up the remote, while the scientist picked up the collar. "This will not hurt, so please try not to fidget."

"Got nothing to lose at this point, now do I?" Taryn said as he tilted his head back submissively.

The scientist put the collar on. "It may be a little tight, as it has to make skin contact. Do let me know if it is too tight." As he fastened the collar together, the circular clasp lit up, and made a slight humming sound.

As he was doing this, Agent T had walked over to the two-way mirror. When he finished, she knocked on the window. "Deactivate the power-damping field." The circular dome on the ceiling went dark, and fell silent. "How do you feel?"

Taryn tried to free himself again, but to no avail. "Like my powers are still gone."

"Good." Agent T turned the dial on the remote, and pressed the button. "How about now?"

Taryn felt his powers return slightly, but not completely. He was immediately aware of what was happening, never the less, he obliged her with a small show of strength. He broke his bonds easily. "Like a puppet." He responded. "Let me guess, you can control my power, right?"

"Yup." She said. "Anywhere from here to a thousand yards away."

"What if I break the controller?"

"Defaults to zero."

"OK." Taryn sighed. 'Better play along for now. At least until I can get free.' He thought.

"We need to get going."

"Hey kid!" Taryn said to the scientist. "What are the numbers now?"

"Over 700…what was it you called them?"

"Temporal sprites. 20% power. No problem." He looked back over to Agent T. "We best get a move on."


	9. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8: "What the heck is that?!"**

As they lined up, the temporal sprites could be heard chanting. "Blood! Blood! Blood!"

"Does that answer your question?" Dale said as he fastened the holster with two pistols around his waist.

Chip was worried what it had come to. He already knew Gadget had gone off the deep end a little with her new cannon, and that Dale had a history of violence, what with his "Ram-Dale" persona, but aside from the few dustups, the Rescue Rangers were always ones to look for a peaceable solution to their problems first. And if that failed, try to subdue their foes, not flat out kill them. Yet, here they were, all of them, preparing to go out, guns a blazing, without even talking to them. "I get that," he said as he looked down at the pair of guns in his hands, "but are we really going to do this?"

Dale tried to reassure his long-time best friend. "Buddy, I know your aversion to killing. But something you have to understand, sometimes, the bad guys can't be reasoned with. And these guys are dangerous."

"To right!" Monty added in, as he passed with a couple of rifles in his arms. "My Ol' man once said 'When ya' up a gum tree, don't squib out, be a digger, not a drongo!"

"I think what Monty's trying to say is that when we're back into a corner, we have to fight." Dale said.

"I know, but I'm worried." Chip confessed.

"I'm cool, man." Dale said. "No Ram-Dale here."

"No, it's not you." Chip rose his head, and pointed over his shoulder, whispering. "It's her."

Dale got closer to his friend. "You mean Gadget?"

"Yeah, she put a real gun in the Rangerwing!"

"Holy…"

"I know, right?"

"I can hear you, you know!" Gadget said as she turned around to see the two chipmunks shocked.

Monty leaned down between the friends. "Forgot 'bout those ears, eh mates?"

"I am fine." Gadget said with a leer in her eye towards Chip. "You need to get in the game! We are fighting for our lives here." She looked over at Dale. "And I think Ram-Dale might actually be beneficial, at this point."

"Are you listening to yourself?" Chip stood up, and hollered. "You hate Ram-Dale. It deeply disturbed you that, while he wasn't really himself at the time, he was even capable of such violence. And now, you want him to pull that out! What happened to you?"

"I'm questioning everything!" Gadget got right up in Chip's face. "This whole situation has me questioning all I've ever known. My feelings on violence, how my dad died, and even…" She turned away from Chip and stopped talking.

But Chip knew what she was going to say, and finished her sentence. "…even us, right?"

With that, the rest of the gang took this as a cue to leave. "I've grown to love you, Chip. You helped teach me what love was. But in the past few weeks, I've been consumed with this whole thing." She turned around and looked at him accusingly. "And you have done nothing but question me."

"I've been supportive." Chip stood firm. "I only caution you to use reason." He grabbed each shoulder. "I don't want to lose the real you!"

She pushed him away. "Maybe this is the real me." With that, she turned away.

Chip stood there for a moment, crestfallen.

"Hey Orville, you old bird, you still here?" Agent T yelled as she rushed into the RAS hangar with Taryn in tow.

"You know, I could just fly us there." Taryn said, trying to convince.

It didn't work. "You also said I'd have to give you more of your powers. Not a chance. ORVILLE!"

With that second yell, a crashing sound was heard in the distance. Out of one of the bays stumbled an albatross. He managed a goofy-looking run up towards the two squirrels, stopping short in front of them, causing only Taryn to flinch. "Hey, how's the RAS's top secret agent?"

"No time for the pleasant banter. Rescue Ranger headquarters is under attack. Can you get us there?"

"Climb on board!" Orville lowered a wing, which the rodents climbed. "Buckle in, it's gonna get hairy!"

With that, Orville ran down the length of the runway, jumping of the end, wings spread and diving. Tammy had done this before, and managed to buckle in quickly. Taryn, on the other hand, had to hold on for dear life as he had not gotten buckled before the big bird dived. After Orville leveled out, Taryn straightened himself up in his seat. "Now I really wish I had flown myself."

Chip, Monty and Zipper stood along the edge of the landing branch, looking down at the enemy, which now numbered in the thousands. "We all know the plan. We keep them on the ground. To do that, Gadget's in the sky with her cannon. Foxglove is manning the plunger turret and some pistols, watching her six. Dale will take point, and be down there in the vehicle. You and I will watch his six with the Hunter 8's, and Zipper will watch our six."

"An' in case we get overrun, bug out an rendezvous at RAS." Monty completed.

"Right. But we won't let that happen."

At that, the throaty roar of the Sprinter's engine could be heard coming from the bottom of the tree. The door opened, and the vehicle came out, auto-turret and front guns firing, taking out dozens of sprites. The sprites fired back, shooting energy rounds out from the tips of their spears. Dale took a hard right, as Chip and Monty fired down from the branch.

The Ranger wing could be heard flying in, firing its cannon on the dive, which blew up right in the middle of the ruckus. As Gadget climbed back up, she reloaded the cannon, and Foxglove fired the pistols down at the crowd, felling dozens of sprites herself.

The army of demons responded by firing back at the plane, clipping the wings in a couple places, but doing no real damage. After this, the Sprinter came back around for another run, felling more sprites. But this time, the sprites were able to place multiple spears in the ground in front of the vehicle, which it hit, causing it to turn onto its side. Dale climbed up onto the top of the vehicle, with the case on his back, firing his rifle. But he was surrounded.

"Dale!" Chip screamed as he ran down the tree. "I'm coming!"

It was at this point that an albatross could be seen arriving. "Fly over the fight." Taryn said to Orville.

"You're crazy." Orville said, but obliged anyway. "Where'd you find this guy, Tammy?"

"Orville!" Tammy admonished.

"Too late, Tams." Taryn said with a wry smile and a salute before jumping off the bird.

"Land there, Orville." Tammy said, pointing at the landing branch.

"Short runway. Better slow down." Orville slowed his approach, but it was still not enough. He came in hot, and Monty had to duck, avoiding the albatross' wing. Orville skidded until he came to rest, with his head through the front door.

Tammy jumped off the bird, and greeted Monty. "We're here to help. The RAS is sending a squadron of troopers, but they're on maneuvers out of town. It'll take 'em 15 minutes to get here. We need to hold them off until then."

"Who's we?" Monty asked.

Tammy pointed at the squirrel currently falling out of the sky.

Taryn fell towards the legions of sprites and the overturned vehicle. 'I hope it's still there.' He thought as he closed in on the ground. When he hit the ground, the sprites around him were thrown away as if a meteor hit.

"Dark beam!" Purple-hued energy beams left his hands in both directions, taking out droves of demons, but there were still many, so he kept firing. He made his way towards the fallen vehicle, which Dale was still standing on.

Chip had reached the ground by this point, and a group of sprites had turned towards him. With a sigh, he started firing, his aim true, each shot felling a sprite. He used the gun to bore a hole in their legions. "Dale!" He screamed as he advanced.

Dale was shooting at sprites when he noticed the arrival of warrior. He started firing at the sprites near Taryn, as he stood up and fired his own attacks back. Taryn looked at the chipmunk, and immediately noticed the case on his back. "Give me the case!"

"What?" Dale said, as he continued to fire. As he looked back over at Taryn, a shot from one of the sprites hit him, making him fall to his knee.

As this happened Chip had made it to his fallen friend, and climbed onto the vehicle to tend to him. "Dale, you ok! Speak to me, buddy."

Just then, a large tear opened up, and a giant beast lumbered out of the portal. It had large teeth, and drool coming out of its mouth. Its ape-like posture was strengthened by its long arms, at the end of which were giant claws. It wore crudely fastened armor, and when it arrived, all of the sprites around it scattered away. It let out a bestial roar as it look down at the rodents.

"What the heck is that?!" Chip exclaimed.

"A rancor beast?" Taryn looked shocked, and then fired both beams at the monster, which both glanced off of the armor. He looked over at Chip and demanded. "Case! Now!"

Chip took the case off of his friend's back, and tossed it over at Taryn. As it passed him, he waved one hand over one of the locks, which changed green and released. He spun, and was able to wave the other hand over the other lock, which also turned green and released.

Foxglove saw this and said. "Huh, biometrics. Figures." She then turned back to firing at sprites.

The rancor had begun to charge towards Taryn, who cartwheeled out of the way of the beast towards the case. He opened the case, and pulled out two swords that were offset in the style of a pair of tonfa. They were red, and as soon as he touched them, they caught fire. The beast had turned around and was charging again. But this time, Taryn charged in return. The rancor raised up one of its massive arms a swung down with force. But Taryn dodged, and slid between its legs, slashing them with his swords. The rancor let out a scream, and stumbled, but kept its footing. But it was too late. Taryn had rebounded, jumping onto the beast's back, and plunging the swords into the back of its neck, between the armor plates.

The rancor thrashed wildly to throw its unwanted rider, and Taryn used the swords to hold on. He pulled on out, and its blade swung 180 degrees, revealing a barrel. He stuck the barrel into the hole made by the blade and fired; sending the fire down the blade and into the beast, whose eyes and mouth exploded in flame, before the rancor finally went down.

Gadget had put the Rangerwing in hover mode, and she and Foxglove were watching what unfolded. As they did this, a tear opened up in the sky behind the plane, and before they could react, Bastion appeared, and used his tail to slice the vehicle in two, which exploded, and sent Gadget and Foxglove flying. He caught Gadget in his claw, and look down at Taryn who had just turned up to look at him, and smiled as he retreated back into the portal, laughing.

"Gadget, no!" Both Taryn and Chip screamed out as the portal closed. Taryn knew where they were headed, and as he was about to take off, his powers faded away.

"No!" He shot a look up at Tammy. "Give them back, I've gotta go!"

"Not without me!" She screamed down at him.

"Not without us." Chip interjected. "We need some info when this is all over."

"Grrr! Fine! Lets got, then!"

Gadget found herself tied to a stone tablet. She felt she remembered this, but could not place it. She tried to free herself, but the bonds were too tight. It was no good.

The giant creature returned to her. "You don't remember me, do you?"

"I know I should." She said back. "And I should remember this place."

"That's OK. For you see, I remember this place well enough for the both of us." Bastion growled. "I relived that memory for 5 years, as the sprites contained in the device merged with me," he motioned to his demonic form, "mutating me into this. Though, I will have to thank you. Never have I had more power than right now."

He picked up a small knife, and cut his own hand. Gadget gulped. "What are you going to do?"

"Get more power, my dear?" He said, turning the blade on her. "Shall we begin?"

Orville could carry six passengers, so Foxglove had to fly herself. They had a long way to go, and had been over the Pacific for hours now. But they had finally reached the other side. They could just see the Japanese shore line.

"This is taking too long. The ceremony should be wrapping up by about now." Taryn said, pleadingly. "Let me go, I will save her."

"No way." Tammy said, waggling the remote. "As long as I have this, you aren't going anywhere."

"Besides, Gadget and I have some questions for you, Warrior." Chip said.

"But I've told you the entire story." Taryn went on. "Who I am, how we met and why I'm here now. You have to believe me."

"We can't." Chip said. "She wants answers, and I intend on making sure she gets them."

As he said this, the oceans heaved upward. The sky grew dark, and numerous tears formed in the sky. Cracking noises could be heard everywhere as the ground shook violently. Taryn looked up in amazement and defeat, just as the mountain they approached burst open, and a giant dragon-like figure emerged. It looked right at Taryn and laughed, and then it opened a tear, and went through.

"We're too late." Taryn said, slumping down in tears.

"Hang on, I see her!" Chip said, pointing at the tablet which Gadget was on. "Orville, down there."

"Roger. Going in!" Orville swooped down, landing right in front of the tablet.

The Rangers looked in horror, as the slumped body of Gadget lay there, with a knife in her chest. The only one able to move was Taryn, himself broken up. He walked up and pulled the knife out. He then cut the bindings and took her down off of the tablet. He hugged her, crying. "I'm so sorry, little sister, I failed you." As he held her, he felt a faint pulse. "She's still alive!" He exclaimed, to the other's shock. "I don't know how, but she is!" He took her up to the bird, who allowed him to climb on.

"I thought you said this would kill her?" Dale exclaimed.

"I did, but somehow, she is still alive. I know it!" He laid the mouse in Chip's arms, who himself felt her still there.

"He's right." Chip exclaimed. "I don't know how I know, but I know she's still alive."

Dale turned to his girlfriend. "Foxy, check her out."

Foxglove leaned over, and her eyes glowed as she held her wings over the mouse's head. After a moment, she replied. "They're right. I can still sense her spirit, though it's very faint."

"This place is gone. We need to get out of here!" Taryn looked at Orville. "Can you fly?"

"I still got one more round in me."

"We need to get to altitude, and open a tear to my home world. I can use the Ticket Home on my Omni-gauntlet, but you'll need to stay right on my tail. If you've been keeping anything in reserves, I need you to pour it on, now." He turned to Tammy. "I need to fly!"

She turned the dial to 100% and hit the button. "There you go. Let's move."

"Stay right on me, Orville." He said as he took off, followed closely by the bird. They flew up to a height of 1,500 ft., at which Taryn hit a button on his gauntlet, which threw a laser out. It opened a tear and the second laser came out and targeted it to LW001. Taryn flew through, followed closely be Orville and the gang.


	10. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9: Epilogue**

The first to land was Taryn, who landed right in front of the two humans who stood there; his friend Rez and his father Ty. The bird and the bat landed a distance away, and even though he waved them over, they were still scared. Taryn convinced his father to leave and his friend to assume more animal friendly form, that of a hamster.

After this, the crew came up and Rez attempted to revive Gadget. Though he was able to repair her body, which upon using his powers healed almost immediately, her mind was another matter. They all tried to wake up Gadget, but to no avail. Rez immediately rushed her to the hospital, which left Taryn to deal with the guests.

They had survived, but there was little reason to celebrate. RR117 had been destroyed. As what happens to a dimension whose lock is opened, the universe itself was ripped apart piece by piece, molecule by molecule. Only they had survived.

The mouse inventor that held that dimension together was in critical care in the hospital. Unable to awake from the coma she was in. Doctors worked around the clock to revive the Hero of the LWC. But everything they tried led to nothing. They even placed an Omni-gauntlet on her arm and transformed her into a human, thinking maybe that would rouse her, but alas, nothing.

Taryn had taken the others to quarantine chamber. Their bodies would need to adjust to their new surroundings, and since they had little experience with this, it would take some time. After a while, they were still having trouble adjusting, so to help them out, they were also given Omni-gauntlets to regulate their body's molecular structure, and allow them to assimilate to the dimension's native format. Also, to better help them interact with LWC personnel, they assumed human form.

After they stood up in human form, Taryn ripped the power damper collar off his neck, and knocked Tammy out, dragging her away. The Rangers and Orville gave chase, but the door locked behind Taryn, trapping them inside. They thought they might be able to escape in some other animal form, but quickly found their gauntlets locked.

Suddenly, a voice came over the loudspeaker in the room. "Do not be alarmed." They looked around, and noticed an elevated window had appeared in the wall near the ceiling. Inside was Ty. "Relax, and allow me to explain."

Tammy awoke, strapped to a chair by her ankles and wrists. There was a table in front of her, and across the table sat Taryn. "Hello, sunshine." He said mockingly.

"What are you doing?" Tammy said.

Taryn ignored her, placing the power damper collar on the table. "We have the same kind of tech here. One of the first things I learned after becoming a TIPA agent was how to get out of them."

"How did you break it?" She continued her inquisition.

"This is some weird kind of interrogation we've got going on here, where the capturee questions the capturer." He would indulge her now. "Still, it works, I guess." He stood up, and picked up the collar gingerly. "Physics 101: law of conservation of mass: Matter can neither be created nor destroyed. Shrink something, it gets denser…" He then pinched part of the collar, which crumbled immediately. "…blow it up…"

Tammy finished his sentence. "…and it gets brittle."

"Exactly. Also…" He lifted his left arm to display a wristband that looked similar to the collar. "…this is our version. I've been dampened this whole time." He then grabbed the wristband, grunted and ripped it off of his wrist. "Warriors train not only their power, but their physical and mental strength as well. We are the peak of human conditioning."

"So, you were never under my control."

"Sort of. I knew how to rip ours off, what points are the weakest, and all." He set down the tattered collar, which broke apart on the table. "Yours I was unfamiliar with. Although I certainly had the strength to break it, I chose not to until the odds were in my favor."

"Here at home, among your people."

"Yeah, that's right."

Tammy leaned forward, leer in her eye. "So, why fake it, then?"

Taryn pulled out a handle. He pressed a button on its hilt, and a beam of light about two and one half inches long appeared. It was very thin. It was clearly a knife. He approached Tammy, who cringed and closed her eyes. She heard a ripping sound, and looked down to see her right arm freed, Taryn leaning over to free her left. "Trust." He said simply as he freed her. "You believed you couldn't trust me."

Tammy rubbed the back of her head. "Now what would make me think that?"

"You had that coming." He pointed at his eye.

"So why lock us up?" Chip demanded.

"So you would not disturb the proceedings." Ty explained, as he walked in through the door. "We are sorry for that. You are, of course, free to go."

"Good." Dale said as he tried to shove Ty out of the way. He, however, could not move the warrior. "What are you made of, granite?"

"I heard you're the well read one…at least of us. You should know better."

"Yeah, yeah. Most powerful dark warrior. Right." Dale retreated back to his friends.

Ty continued. "Gadget's status here is legendary. She will be looked after by our best and brightest, and treated as royalty. You, however, are not. You are refuges of a dead world."

The gang held their heads down on that, the realization sinking in for some that they will never see home again.

"But, since you are friends of Gadget's, out of respect for her, you will be given citizen status, should you choose to take it. You may travel around New Venture City, but without supervision, you may not leave the mountain."

"Why's that?" Chip asked.

"You are not of this world, thus you impact here must be minimized."

"What if we refuse?" Orville asked.

"You are not of this world, and thus will have to be detained."

"So are choice is confinement to jail, or confinement to a much larger jail." Dale said.

"In simpler terms, yes."

"Not much of a choice." Chip said.

"Good. Here are your ID cards." Ty passed out ID cards to each of the Rangers and Orville. He then stepped away from the door. "You are free to go."

Taryn laid an ID card in front of Tammy. "Do you trust me now?"

"What's this?"

"That is your TIPA ID card." Taryn explained. "You've been conscripted. You are now a member of the Temporal and Inter-dimensional Protection Agency."

"Why?"

The door opened, and Rez Whitcraft walked in. "Because we know talent when we see it." Rez sat down at the table, while Taryn leaned against the wall behind him. "Taryn tells me you were a covert agent with something called the RAS."

"Rescue Aid Society. And it's 'am'." Tammy shot back.

"Not anymore." Taryn said.

"Quiet you!" Rez snapped. "We're not trying to drive a wedge here."

"What does it matter, she's conscripted. She's joining whether she wants to or not."

Rez looked back at Tammy. "You're not technically conscripted. You may choose not to join."

"But…" Both Tammy and Taryn said in unison.

"But, if you choose not to, you must be detained."

Tammy sat silent for a moment. She was contemplating her options. 'So, my choice is be an Agent of TIPA, or go to prison.' She thought. 'Not much of a choice.' "So, when do I start?"


	11. Dimensional Force

**Dimensional Force**

 _ **Lightning Warrior Commission Database: TIPA file**_

 _ **Dimensional Force**_

 **WARNING: RECORD CLASSIFIED. TO ONLY BE VIEWED BY AUTHORIZED PERSONEL.**

 **PLEASE ENTER AUTHORIZATION CODE: ***************

 **AUTHORIZATION CODE ACCEPTED**

 **OPENING RECORD**

 _The Lightning Warrior Commission Council, against the recommendations of the Temporal and Inter-dimensional Protection Agency, decided that the escape of the criminal Bastion Kilmartin, with the political issues they were facing with the United Earthen Republic, was low priority. In response, TIPA Director Reginald Whitcraft covertly commissioned the Dimensional Force, a task force lead by Senior TIPA Agent Taryn Corin-Johnston and Agent Tamera Brown to track the fugitive down…_

Loyal Readers:

I have an ambitious project to announce. I'm going to take the Rangers and the LWC on the road, if you will. They need to track down Bastion and take care of him.

To do this, they will need to dimension hop to find him, and repair the damage to the dimensional tree he is leaving in his wake.

This will be a multiple crossover event, taking our Dimensional Force to many different locations, dealing with multiple different enemies and making new friends along the way.

If you want to follow their adventures, go here:

X-overs-and-Misc-Cartoons-Crossovers/29/704/

Thank you!

Shield Lightning


End file.
